Simplifying color selection for customers has become a priority for paint companies. Several offer online as well as in-store advice with suggested combinations to evoke moods or locales.

Erika Woelfel, Behr paint's director of color, developed combinations that bring summer indoors or a slice of the seashore inland. The results can be seen on the company's design site, www.colorfullybehr.com.

In her beachy palette (a California favorite), turquoise blues mix with sandy beige and a touch of foggy gray. And that beach could be on a mountain lake or the ocean.

"The approach to 'life at the beach' is easy comfort," Woelfel said. "As you can imagine, colors are inspired by views of the sea, dunes, beach and sky."

When narrowing down a palette, a critical eye and expert advice help.

That's where Pittsburgh's "The Voice of Color" comes in.

"We offer in-home consultation," said Steinberger, who has done about 40 so far this year as part of the Voice of Color program. "It costs $75, but you get $50 back in free paint."

Page 2 of 2 - During Steinberger's first visit to Fletcher's house, she helped her see outside her boxy rooms. Shelly and her husband, John, had already started their modest remodeling project, trading the Victorian's cast-iron stove for a fireplace in the living room and adding granite countertops to the kitchen.

The distinctive granite (Mokono Brown from Arizona Tile) almost became a stumbling block. Shelly Fletcher loved its bold-gold colors but had her heart set on a blue kitchen.

"Next to any blue, it just looked blah," she said of the granite.

Steinberger guided Fletcher to a complementary shade of buttery yellow -- Belgian Waffle. Next to that warm and toasty hue, the granite "just popped," Fletcher said.

Fletcher already had a blue-and-yellow color scheme in mind, inspired by a bedroom at a bed-and-breakfast in Santa Cruz, Calif.

"I showed Pam this snapshot," she said of a photo, showing the B&B's crisp navy paisley print bedding and upholstery against sunny yellow walls. "It just makes me feel good."

"We do in-store consultations, too," she said. "I love it when a client brings in a photo, a page from a magazine, or something that shows what they have in mind. But don't bring 20 different photos -- that just shows you haven't focused yet."

Other accent colors were pulled from two large Northern California nature photographs (one forest, one beach sunset), printed on canvas and framed as artwork. Both photos had special meaning to the Fletchers and enhanced that sense of peace and place in their house.

"We pulled out more shades of blue (from the forest) in the kitchen and coral (from the sunset) in the bedroom," Fletcher said. "It really clicked."

As a neutral, they added a taupe -- Summer Suede -- that could team with the blue and yellow, and unify the whole house with bright-white trim and ceilings throughout.

The rich tan now covers the living room walls, which had been stripped of several layers of flowered wallpaper. (Some dated from when the house was built in 1895; others were added by Fletcher's grandmother.)

"The great part about this color scheme is they're all neutrals," Steinberger said. "Even though it's blue or yellow or taupe, these colors go with everything."

The result is distinguished yet casual and inviting. Although the colors are definitely 21st century, they blend beautifully with the Fletchers' antique furnishings.

"I wanted to keep my living room as a tribute to my grandmother -- it still has so much of her," she said. "But now, it also feels like us."